Creatures of Comfort
by Pomagraniteshading
Summary: Hermione and Severus have a unique relationship after she spends weeks caring for him post war. One shot. I do not own the world of Harry Potter.


Severus could not, _would not_ be bothered by the young girl's lust laced glances. Sneering he turned to the board manually writing out the invisibility potion's instructions while sounding them off verbally. It was practically involuntary to him at this point of his long life. The war had ended, his masters- both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore dead. His promise to Lilly fulfilled and now Severus spent his days instructing all these little snot nose children and hormonal teenagers.

He had of course considered leaving Hogwarts and working for a brewery but found the idea…. Detestable. Severus refused to ever admit it aloud but Hogwarts was the only home he had. What would he do with his life now? He had spent the majority of it instructing and at one point had only been several years older than the students he taught. Now, at the prime of a wizard's life, he had no idea what he wanted to do. He was free to do whatever he pleased and as a war hero it would be welcomed by the wizarding community.

He entertained the idea that perhaps it was too soon after the war to make any hasty decisions, as he sat down at his desk. Severus grabbed a quill with pale fingers and slowly swirled it inside an ink pot while he thought. It had only been half a year since the final battle, his rippling scars that marred his neck were still an angry, newly healed pink. His body had just come back into its prime. As a spy he had been very thin and exhausted from stress and the large chance of certain death.

Nagini's venom had wreaked havoc on his body months after the battle. Only now, six months later had he put on a bit of muscle. His face was free of the deep worry lines it had possessed. In his new found health his skin appeared pale but much less sallow and his hair although still fine now merely reflected light instead of hanging limp with sweat or grease as some would claim. Of course he was much less lonely, and so much happier than he had ever been. _Insufferable little girl. _He smirked.

He stood in a fluid motion and began to walk around and observe the progress of the few groups in this particular class. A very few students of Dumbledore's army had returned to finish their seventh year. It did not include Harry Potter or Ron Weasley. The two good- for- nothings had exploited their badges of courage to be enrolled in auror training at once.

Severus scoffed at the idea of either of those dunderheads catching any dark wizard or merely surviving without their annoying little counterpart. The so called Gryffindor Princess. The only one of the golden trio to have ever earned Severus' respect and admiration. The thought made him grimace at Mr. Longbottom who was currently trying to stabilize his own concoction. His movements were clumsy under Snape's dark and misdirected glare.

_Damn those emotions, and damn that insufferable woman_. Miss Granger who looked stunning today sitting beside Mr. Longbottom. Miss Granger who had coincidentally been the one to keep Severus stabilized long enough until he arrived in the over populated medical ward of Hogwarts. She had apparently stayed for weeks caring for Snape while he lay useless in a coma. He sharply recalled his first moments awake.

…...

_Five months before..._

Hermione was exhausted and her body ached. With all the help she had been offering Madam Pomfrey and the fact that she insisted on caring for Professor Snape near completely alone had worn her down. She had been here for three weeks and one night. Right here by his side. Seeing the incredible amounts of blood pulsing out from his neck had been enough to glue her into position.

She had become incredibly paranoid and thought that if she left and went to sleep in her quarters she might come back to find his wounds split open. And she would have to frantically fight for his life and her sanity once again. So she stayed, as Moody had suggested, having Professor Snape under _constant vigilance._

This had become an obsession- yes she could admit that. She could admit in the safe confines of her mind that she had attached herself to the unsuspecting patient. When she wasn't caring for him she read to him. Every afternoon she would place silencing spells up and sit at his left side with one of her muggle books. At first she had read textbooks of potion but those grew irksome as she realized that she stumbled over many of the outlandish terms as she spoke.

She had open access to his house wards and had taken a desperately quick trip over to grab pairs of pajamas and robes for her professor. She found that she could not resist the bookshelf beside his dresser even in her haste. The books she had brought back to read were challenging and strange.

So after a few days of attempting to read his books she decided that easier literature was needed. Her muggle cousin had gotten her a box set of fantasy books for her birthday two years before. She had never had the patience to entertain them until then. She blamed it on the lack of sleep that she could not handle anything more sophisticated. So they started the series together. Her professor unconscious and Hermione shaking with lack of sleep and personal care.

She sat at his side once again and hastily opened the fourth book of the series eager to see the heroine's relationship unfold. She read with a steady voice and when she got to one of the scenes that were…. racy she quickly rushed through the last of it blushing as if he could hear her. _Curse her cousin._

Maybe he could hear but she could always claim it was a dream when he woke. If he woke. She leaned over the chair and buried her head in the sheets of his bed in shame. How could she think about such things when the war hero Professor Snape is currently fighting for his life? How morbid could she be? After a few minutes she sighed and sat up closing the book. It had been days since her last shower, weeks since her last bath. And even though she cringed in guilt she gingerly got up and disarmed the silencing spells.

"Madame Pomfrey" she called as she left his room. The sweet medi- witch bustled towards Hermione with a slight smile.

"Yes dear?" Hermione had guilt written all over her face and if Poppy hadn't known better she would have thought the girl had committed a crime.

"I was wondering… if you could watch over the professor. Only for a little while" she added quickly. "Just for maybe an hour… so that I could bathe properly. It's just that it's been weeks since-"

"Oh hush child. That's quite all right. Go on and take the nicest longest bath you'd like. Use the prefect's bath house. I'll stay here with Severus and watch over him. I'm sure an hour won't kill either of you."

Poppy watched the girl nod shyly and turn away walking quickly out the ward. Probably to be as quick as possible. She laughed a gentle laugh and wondered how Severus would react to his new attachment.

Hermione gathered fresh robes in a pastel pink. They had been sent to her by Tonks who thought that everyone needed a bit of cheering after the hard war. These robes fitted to her body and were light and silky yet incredibly warm. She had only worn them once and that was to try them on. Of course it had been a quick affair but she had fallen in love nonetheless. Tonight she wanted to take care of herself because she was honestly very hairy and bushy and grimy all around.

She wanted, no _needed_ to scrub and shave and wash it all away. The bath waters were bubbly and magic laced. They made her feel relaxed and confident that her presence was not needed in the wards just now. The scent of rose and pine was heavy in the air and on her skin and new robes as she walked lightly back to her professor's medical room. She was very sleep and decided that she would conjure her cot early.

Every night since she had attempted to sleep in her own rooms and discovered the paranoia she had conjured a cot and slept in a bed beside her professor's. She flicked her wand and the fluffy cot appeared beckoning her to come snuggle up. She usually did not sleep until around two a.m. and awoke at exactly half past seven a.m. Tonight Hermione gave into exhaustion at six at night and did not wake for a long while.

…...

Severus awoke with a quiet grunt. His throat was as dry as parchment. He blinked a few times his eyes slowly growing accustomed to the candle light. His neck was stiff with a dull ache and as he moved his head to the left not only was he shocked to find a rosy woman facing him on a cot and swallowed near whole by blankets but also by the sharp pain that shot down the length of his neck.

To his chagrin he made a gargling sound at the new radiating pain. Severus' eyes watered and he blinked quickly when he heard shuffling to his left. He breathed through his nose attempting to control his reaction to the unbearable pain. His jaw clenched and his eyes shut in concentration. He remembered everything now- Nagini, the blood, the memories, the end of a war. It was blurry but he remembered. A soft hand landed on his cheek and the thumb of that hand rubbed lines into his cheekbone. His mouth went slack as he panted in painful puffs.

"Drink Professor please." The voice came with cool glass prodding his lips. He swallowed the liquid and had to keep himself from screaming in pain. The hand left his face and took away his only comfort. This only lasted a second because this hand was back and running through his hair. With every swallow the pain dulled considerably. Severus kept his eyes closed because a heaviness had settled over him and the now two hands running through his hair and scratching at his scalp felt fantastic. So bloody fantastic.

"I'm so happy you're awake professor." This jarred him. What on earth was he doing? He immediately opened his eyes into a scowl and waved the one source of comfort away. Miss Granger stumbled back with wide eyes. She seemed to remember very quickly too who's hair she was violating. Severus mimed a piece of parchment and a quill writing. She blinked in recognition and quickly ran to the other side of the room where she began to rummage through a dresser.

Severus took the time to carefully study his surroundings without moving his head. The only thing of interest happened to be Miss Granger who was currently clad in a pale pink robe and the cot that she had been asleep in that was only feet from his own bed. And of course the heavy scent of rose and pine wafting of Miss Granger herself.

"Professor? Here." She pulled up a table and placed the quill and parchment on it. "I'm going to have to sit you up."

Severus wondered where Poppy was but could not very well ask at the moment so he merely nodded. Miss Granger sitting him up went surprisingly easy and she did not cause him near any pain. As he started to write a short sentence she vanished the cot beside his bed. She read the line of script quickly.

_Hand me my wand and please fill me in on the events that have taken place. _

Miss Granger did just that. She told him of how the war had ended with Potter the victor; how he had become a war hero in a few short weeks. She told him, with a burning blush, that she had insisted she be the one to care for him. And Severus had found out that he had been asleep for three weeks. The fact that she had saved his life and had stayed by his side was a ridiculous notion and it shocked him that the young woman could be so devoted. He saw a glint of a territorial streak in her eyes as she told him she had been his sole nurse. He flicked his hand up to stop her and beckoned her closer to read his next command.

_Go back to bed Miss Granger… _At her defiant glare he quickly wrote- _I promise that I will not keel over in the night if you sleep. _

"Fine." She said quietly and pouted. With a flick of her wand and to Severus' complete shock the cot was back beside his bed albeit a safe distance away unlike the last placement. He flicked his hand to get her attention. When she looked into his eyes she withered but seemed to resolve herself quickly as he wrote.

_Why is it you've conjured a cot in the middle of the room? When I ordered you to go to bed I meant in your own quarters. I'm sure you have them so why not utilize them. There is a completely qualified medi- witch here in the wards. Are you such an insufferable-_

"It's not for you that I'm sleeping here. There are other reasons. I trust Madame Pomfrey- it isn't that." She said shyly refusing to meet his questioning eyes.

_Then what, pray tell, is it Miss Granger?_

Hermione burned with shame at being so weak but the nightmares and paranoia were not things that she wanted to return to. Of course this wasn't a permanent solution she knew that. But she wanted one more night where she wouldn't be absolutely torn apart.

"I can't tell you what it is."

_Then you cannot stay here. If there is not a valid reason then you should stop wasting time and go to your own bed at once._

She stared hard at the foot of his bed with watery eyes. "I have nightmares if I sleep anywhere else."

_Are they reoccurring? _She nods to him.

_Describe it to me. _

"I see you laying there in the bed and… I I'm trying to run to you. But I can't and your wounds they start to rip open-" Severus watches uncomfortably as she starts to sob so that her words are barely discernible. "and you're dying. I can't" she throws up her hands and looks at him in desperation.

He quickly did a non- verbal spell so that she fell into a deep sleep. He levitated her onto her cot and used his magic to cover her up. His heart pounded heavy in his chest. Severus is shocked, how could she feel so much for someone like him. A man who had never offered any positive semblance of support or emotion to her.

…...

_Present_

Hermione glares at Lavender Brown who is currently ogling Severus. She attempts to focus on the potion. An hour into the class her potion is nearing the third stage and is in perfect condition. She lets it simmer as her instructions tell her and turns to see Neville in terrible panic. The invisibility potion is supposed to be a light blue but at the moment Neville's resembles clumpy split pea soup. She cringes and quickly try's to give him instructions on how to stabilize it as their professor and her close friend glides toward their table.

Severus, as she smugly gets to call him in her mind, glares at Neville for a long moment before his coal eyes flick up to meet hers. He slips easily into her mind and to her it feels like a gentle cooling of her brain. Her eyes narrow.

_Severus don't be so hard on him. This has never been his best subject._

_**I find it hard to sympathize Miss Granger. **_Hermione snorts aloud.

_Was that your attempt at a joke?_

_**I do not joke.**_

_Alright half- blood prince. Not everyone can be as brilliant as you. _

At that Hermione looked away pushing him from her mind and refused look back handing Neville the ingredients he needed so that the class would keep from imploding. Severus did not protest and merely walked on with raised eyebrows. She knew she had won this fight when he left poor Neville alone.

…...

Hermione put her curls up in a loose bun and slipped into bed beside Severus. She snuggled up to him and threw her leg over both of his and her arm as well as her head rested on his chest. She had not slept without him since the night he awoke. Of course at first it was just her sleeping on his transfigured couch while he slept with the door open.

But in her desperation she would sneak in the middle of the night and conjure a cot to sleep on. That was until she got caught. So he decided wards needed to be put up on his bedroom door. Since Severus' goal had been to wean her off so that she could sleep independently. That plan was thwarted the very first night when he had to rush out of his to a screaming inconsolable Hermione. And then in his brand of desperation he took her to his bed. Though it had not and was not sexual it remained _their_ bed.

After a few weeks they both accepted that they enjoyed the human contact. After two months she moved in to everyone's shock including her families. After six months they had become incredibly close. Practicing occlumency and legilimecy on each other had made sure of that. Their relationship had no judgment or hatred.

Though it wasn't sexual that did not mean that it would stay that way. They had both agreed that after she was no longer a student their relationship would become physical but for now it was nothing more than sweet and romantic. Despite that fact they had yet to kiss. But tonight Hermione was determined to kiss the man that she loved in so many ways.

"Severus." He eyed her lazily with a raised eyebrow.

"Hermione." The sound of her name sent chills down her.

"I love you."

"And I you." She smiled into his chest and tentatively propped herself up. She could hear the blood rush past her eardrums with every heartbeat. Slowly she leaned down and peppered kisses on his cheeks and forehead before hovering her mouth over his. They stared into each other's eyes with heat between them. He patiently waited for her to lower herself.

"I love you so much." And with that she pressed her lips to his in a kiss that seemed to last for hours upon hours.

…...

**AN: ****This is my first FF. If you want to review do be critical; I need all of that input. I hope you enjoyed this. ;) R&R**


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